Garden Bloggers Bloom Day for May 2022

  I'm always relieved when Bloom Day falls on a weekend --no need to fit it into a work week especially if one buys stuff for a living during these times of supply chain hell. I picked the right year to retire ! 

 Since I had to order a new battery charger for my camera (that will not arrive til Tuesday) I hereby present several images taken in haste with one red bar flashing insistently, admonishing me to change the battery or else. Plenty of out of focus photos in this post. Still, there's nothing like being out in the garden at 6:30am on a perfect spring Sunday when no one else in the neighborhood is up yet.


 The first flower to open on Laurens Grape was still sporting it's sepal chapeau. This poppy reseeds reliably and energetically. I was much more diligent this year with thinning-they would be more than happy to overwhelm my small front garden.

 

 

 Silene uniflora 'Druetts Variegated'.

 

 Eryngium 'Blaukappe' will be blueing up in the next few days . A favorite flower at any stage, and another reseeder. 


 

Geum 'Totally Tangerine'. The photo above is Euphorbia 'Silver Swan' I rooted a few cuttings of this first rate plant in fall and have given it the coveted Repeated Element award. Blogger however did not want me to insert any text above its' photo. I will not be defeated !

 

The excellent Clematis 'Arabella'

 

David Austin rose 'Happy Child'

 

Phlomis 'Amazone' . Looks like the snails were up to no good on this one.

 

Lysimachia atropurpurea 'Beaujolais' . I had this plant several years ago , and don't remember if it just fizzled out or if it was a victim of one of my many garden renovations. It does look better when it's not blurry.

Best year ever for Sideritas cypria. I always seem to be plagued by what I call Lambs Ear Syndrome-foliage turning that  particularly pallid shade of beige. None of that so far and I even have a couple of seedlings from last year. Great in bouquets and indifferent to water and heat. Maybe it's time to try Sideritas scardica.

Due to the stellar performance of Geum coccineum 'Totally Tangerine' I decided to try Geum chiloense 'Sunrise' . I planted 2 last fall and they are earning their keep so far . No flopping and that is always a win.

 

 Yucca 'Color Guard' . The blooms are not open yet, but I love how the stalk echoes the colors in the foliage below.

 

 This is by far the most exciting development in my garden so far this year. I really never imagined I would be able to grow a Leucospemum in my climate much less one that would actually bloom . This is L. 'Helena' which I bought 2 years ago in a what-the-hell moment and planted in a large pot to keep it from having to endure any standing water during our rainy winter-if we have a rainy winter. Much to my surprise it sailed through many frosty mornings last year and this year, for no rain means more frost.  In late winter I saw what I was pretty sure were flowers buds forming.Unfortunately in February we had a pre-sunrise morning low of 20 degrees and the buds stopped developing. I was pretty disappointed - we rarely have temps that cold in February. You can see one of the frost damaged flowers right at the base of the pending flower. To my surprise a few weeks later the plant pushed out more blooms and I have 6 more nearing this stage and a few just forming.

 The relentless winds this spring made a mess of my bespoke trellising system for my sweet peas. The whole thing became dis-attached and flopped in half. I might have to rethink my support options. Still, I haven't grown sweet peas in years so it was fun to have them again and I probably got a good six weeks out of them before the damn thing collapsed.

Sombrueil , a beast of a climber .

 Last year I decided to up the inventory on the Penstemons in my garden -this one is 'Hidecote Pink' from the late great Joy Creek Nursery.

 

Dianthus 'Key Lime Pie'

 

Feijoa sellowiana , now Aca sellowiana' .

 

 This is Penstemon pinifolius 'Mersea Yellow' which I thought was never going to bloom for me. It just sat and and did nothing for all of 2021 and it finally has been redeemed itself this spring.

 

David Austin rose 'Molineaux' , never stops blooming, never gets blackspot or rust.

 

Erigeron 'Wayne Roderick'

 

'Lady Emma Hamilton' reclines on Alstromeria 'Indian Summer'


 The rest will have to keep til next month when I will have a solid supply of charged camera batteries. Perhaps there will be less out of focus images !  Be sure to stop by May Dreams Garden where Carol hosts the monthly lineup of flowers .

Comments

  1. I love that dianthus. It's an odd name though - Key Lime Pie. Looks white to me! You are doing so much better than me with P. pinifolius 'Mersea Yellow'; after two summers I have yet to see a single bloom! Happy Bloom Day, Kathy!

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    1. My photo issues this month did rob viewers of the pale green circle in the center of the blooms on Key Lime Pie. It's best attribute-besides the fragrance and long vase life ! If you look at the IG post I did a few days ago of my Saturday flower arrangement you can see it much better there. I'll tell you Jane I was that close to sending Mersea yellow to the compost -I'm glad I was patient for once !

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  2. You managed to get a LOT of photos despite your camera problem! I'm impressed by all the Sideritis blooms. I haven't seen a single one yet here. Congratulation on your first Leucospermum flowers - most of my shrubs took a couple of years to settle in too.

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    1. I can't believe the number of flowers on the Sideritas. I hope the seedlings do as well. I inspect my Leucospermum flowers about 5 times a day -I wonder if I'll be able to bring myself to cut one for the vase?? I bought an L 'High Gold ' last summer -also in a pot but it had way more damage from the 20 degree event . Didn't kill it though and it's putting new growth.

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  3. So much beauty in your garden this Bloom Day, KS. Lysimachia atropurpurea 'Beaujolais', with its silvery foliage is exquisite and your phlomis so delicate - have never seen one like it. Any special tricks for propagating the 'Silver Swan'?

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    1. That Phlomis actually dies back to the ground in winter -I got it from Digging Dog Nursery . The only time I've ever seen it growing in a garden besides mine is a friends garden in Connecticut. I took the cuttings of 'Silver Swan' last summer --I cut fresh non-blooming stems from the new growth at the base , about 4" long, removed all but about 6 leaves and planted in half potting soil/half perlite. Put them under shade cloth and gradually introduced them to full sun in winter (zone 9 here) and planted them in the garden I think in January. I wish I kept better records ! I think I could have planted them out sooner , probably in fall.

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    2. Thanks for the propagation tips, KS. ‘Silver Swan’ has been fairly short-lived for me, so knowing how to propagate new plants is useful.

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  4. Isn't that Silene a wonderful plant? It does so well for me. I really love that phlomis, it is so different from the yellow one. I had a few blooms on my pineapple guava last year for the first time so I'm hoping for more this year.

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    1. Love that Silene so much ! And so easy to just dig up a chunk and move it somewhere else. I bet that Phlomis would do well for you up in the PNW ,but the bloom action is short lived . I have it planted next to a Cuphea micropetala so after about June you don't even see it anymore.

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  5. Yay for leucospemum blooms! I love the look of the Sideritas cypria flowers so much, I wonder if I could get away with it here in my Z8....

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    1. Annies says zone 9 for the Sideritas . I wonder could you have success if you tented it ? It survives the 20's just fine but two hours at 25 is different than 8 or 10 hours at 25. So maybe a good sized container(10 or 15 gal?) moved into the greenhouse pavillion for winter ?

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  6. Your photos are lovely. Congrats on the Leucospermum. Plants are tough. I have been looking for Totally Tangerine everywhere but it seem to have been replaced by other newer varieties Do love it. Always fun to have lots of poppies too. Their seed pods look great in so many dried arrangements.

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    1. Totally Tangerine is the first Geum that has ever done anything for me .Got mine at Annies Annuals

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  7. So exciting about your leucospermum! I brought sidieritis seedlings north, probably oroteneriffae which I think is even more tender, but I'll be happy with just the leaves for summer. That lysimachia was really short-lived for me too, one summer only, but such a cool plant!

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    1. I took the risk and planted two more of the Lysimachia. They reseeded for Marie so you might have better luck in Oregon .

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  8. Good photos considering your battery was running out. Congrats on the Leucospermum! Your 'Silver Swan' Euphorbia is a real beauty. Ditto for 'Molyneux' rose, too. It's up there with 'Iceberg' for near continuous flowering.

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    1. Hoov, I've grown E. 'Tasmanian Tiger' and 'Glacier Blue' and ,Silver Swan' has out-performed by a mile.

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